Favorite Traditions

It was a beautiful night. The snow Paul wished for, and not too freezing, my wish :)

We ♥ seeing the lights at the SLC Temple each year, something I've done since I was little. We watched "Joy to the World" in the Visiting Center, the kids led us right up to the front row- wo. It was enjoyed by all, except maybe Sage, she was sound asleep before it was over.

Sophie left her mark

Do you know who's who?

Merry Christmas!

We also can't let December pass without attending the nearby temple, while the kids are in school. At such a busy time of year, it's kinda my gift to my HF, although the opportunity seems like His gift to me.

2009 ABC's

2009

A is for acquaintances. So thankful for our friends, family, and neighbors!
B is for Basketball. Trevor (5th grade) is our Jr. Jazz player this year.
C is for Custom Decorators, Dianne ♥'s her new job as a Design Consultant.
D is for daring, we are daring to have five kids :)
E is for Eagle. Nick (our senior) earned his this year! We’ll have the ceremony after Christmas.
F is for Fridays. My volunteer day at the kids school, they like having mom come, then its adult time that evening with my sweety.
G is for gospel. We are grateful for a living prophet, our testimonies, and for the gospel in our lives!
H is for Hooray. Trevor won first place in his Pinewood Derby out of 30 cars, they all did great!
I is for “In”. Sophie and Sage (1st grade) love soccer and making it in the goal and I had fun being their coach this fall. Go Orange Rockets!
J is for Jesus. We honor and celebrate Him at Christmas time and throughout the year.
K is for Keeping Up. (Not with the Jones, but with life) Not always easy but worth it.
L is for Love. Paul & I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary this year in Park City, same place where we spent our honeymoon.♥
M is for movie star (they wish). Our boys starred in Broadway Kidz this summer in the local theatre and Josh (9th grade) has a big role in his school play, performing next month.
N is for Nissan. Paul works hard as Finance Manager, we like our new Nissan Armada.
O is for Over the Moon. We are over the moon to have Sophie and Sage in our family, along with our boys, Nick, Josh, & Trev!
P is for Primary, where we hang out each Sunday. I serve in the presidency, Paul teaches Sophies and Sages class, and Trevor has a half year left before going to Young Men’s.
Q is for Quiet, someday we’ll have it, then we’ll probably miss the noise.
R is for road trips. This year we took some fun road trips to St. George, Midway, Flaming Gorge, Wolfcreek...
S is for Saxophone. Trevor is playing the saxophone in the band, just like his dad did.
T is for Temples. We enjoyed being a part of two beautiful new temples in our area and having them so close.
U is for Utah. It’s a great place to live.
V is for Volleyball. Josh’s team took third (close second) at Regionals. Go Summit Hawks!
W is for Wakeboarding. Our favorite summer sport.
X is for X-cellent, Nick lettered in swimming and is determined to keep getting faster. He swims the 500 & 200 meter and relays.
Y is for Yuck. Our economy, Swine flu, Math homework, & Asthma.
Z is for Zion’s National Park- it’s a beautiful place to hike and explore during Spring Break.

It’s good to hear from family and friends this time of year. We are grateful to remember the birth of our Savior and all he does for us. Sending warm wishes for a Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2010!

Love,
Paul, Dianne
Nick, Josh, Trevor, Sophie, & Sage

Trev (right) and his buddy on the Sax. Not bad for just learning this year, good job boys!

Radiant in Red

Girlfriends!

Sage left, Sophie right

I ♥ these velvet Christmas dresses. They used to drown them now they barely fit, this will be their last year wearing them I'm sure.

They don't really like having their pictures taken, but they got into this photo shoot and posed themselves, lol.

XOXO

I'm on a roll. I'm wrapping up Christmas posts so my kids have the fun memories, it came quick this year and was so nice, but I didn't have much time to blog about it earlier. I better hurry before the New Year, we're already comparing gyms :) I could use it after all the Christmas treats.

Architects & Designers

Christmas isn't complete without Gingerbread houses. This year we paired up so they could basically decorate their own house- Josh & Trev/Sage & Mom/Sophie & Dad. We missed Nick, he was at a swim team party.

Masterpiece!

Good enough to eat!

Santa then and now...

2009 w/ Santa (Sage left, Sophie right)

Christmas was wonderful and came too quickly, but we fit in most of our favorite traditions and enjoyed time with family & friends. The girls were thrilled to see Santa, they like to cook and asked for an Easy Bake Oven, my little chefs. As on other fun blogs, I like to look back and take a trip down memory lane with Santa and the girls...

2008 w/ Santa (Sage left, Sophie right)
(We came straight from school. Glad Trevor is in this one, he said he was too old this year, happens all too fast :(

2007 w/ Santa (Sophie left, Sage right)

2006 w/ Santa (Sage left, Sophie right)

(Great memories, the girls were home only a few months here, age 3 1/2. Don't mind the extra arm & knee in the pic, they were petrified, but fine as long as they were touching me :), Santa didn't want to put them down, the girls were proud of themselves for being brave)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas in the air...

c

I would love to take a photography class, the last one I took was "a few years ago" in college :). I like these pics, I usually take quick snapshots.

Christmas stories. Keeping up the tradition, I buy a new Christmas book each year and add it to my collection. I spread them out under the tree to tempt the kids, which works well. When it's real quiet, I often find them checking out the books and reading their book of choice. We also read one each night before bed.

Something sweet for our sweet teachers in Primary

Sophie in black dress, Sage in red w/ Shrek Santa hat :).

The girls were excited for their Winter Program. It was so cute and just the right length, short and sweet. I was bummed that Sage's teacher requested they stay in uniform, when the other two teachers let them dress up. Funny though, Sophie was the one that complained that she had to wear a dress and dreaded tights while her sister got to stay in her school clothes. Can't blame her really, my panty hose are off as soon as I walk in the door when I have to wear the dreaded things.

tight group of girls in Sophie's class

of course they love Sage

sisters

Sophie, her friend, and awesome teacher

Sage and her teacher, expecting her first baby, a boy!

Deck the Halls

Isn't it beautiful? Even if it is decorated at kid height with a few clusters here and there. Someday when I have my designer decorated tree again, I'm sure I'll miss the kids touch on the tree :) It's been fun decorating this year, the memories with each ornament, the nativity & stockings, singing Christmas songs and sucking on chocolate mint candy canes. Paul went all out on the lights outside- the kids love coming home to the house all lit up.

Hope you are all enjoying this Christmas season!

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. - Roy L. Smith

Thanksgiving Ups & Downs

Things are unusually quiet around here tonight- girls are in bed, Paul's at work, Nick's on a date, Josh with his buddies, and Trevor is next door. Wow, I should grab a good book, chocolate, and enjoy a Jacuzzi, but I'm a sick mom not literally that blogs about her kids when they're gone. Good time for a quick Thanksgiving post...

drumstick hat idea from M3, cute idea

Thanksgiving turned out very nice, even with a sudden change of plans that wasn't so sweet at first. I have so much to be thankful for.

I'm thankful that my babe is 100% better. Paul was down for 5 days with the swine flu he got at work, so he was pretty much quarantined to his room. It was a bit crazy taking care of him without letting it spread through the family, but we took all the precautions- hand washing, vitamins, gargling, disinfected everything every few hours, more hand washing, slept on the cold couch (me)... and it didn't spread! Luckily he was able to eat well and wasn't puky, but he was drained, poor guy. The rest of us have received our shots now and Paul is back to his healthy self again, yahoo! So glad you're better hon! We definitely appreciate our health. He appreciated all the phone calls checking up and the refreshing Jamba Juice from my mom :).

I'm thankful for my fun mother-in-law and cute niece that saved the day. We take turns with the holidays, and this year we were spending Thanksgiving with my famiy. We were looking forward to it, but... to make a long story short, we were uninvited last minute. Paul's been better for half a week, but my mom didn't feel comfortable about it (she's changed some since her retirement). She felt bad and offered to bring dinner to us, nice jester but no thanks. I love my mom to pieces, but give me a little credit, I wouldn't bring my family out if they were sick, I never have, and I knew they weren't sick. I know she was trying to think of others but Ouch. I mainly felt bad for the kids, they were excited to see their cousins and G & G, and my brother was coming in from out of town. Oh well, I don't hold grudges, but it helps me to talk about it and get it off my chest.

So, Paul and I quickly planned our Thanksgiving meal and shopped late that night for our favorite dishes (btw, turkeys are cheap the night before:). We figured it would be nice to have it with just our family, although we knew the kids would be bummed with the change of plans. The next morning the boys went on their traditional target & skeet outing with dad & his brothers, while we had some fun girl time here. When they found out we weren't going anywhere, Paul's mom called me right away and enthusiastically invited us to join them at Crystal's for Thanksgiving. They were thrilled to have us and had us come over early as they pulled out the huge home grown turkey from the pit, it cooked all night, delich! We all had a delightful time- good food, great company, and fun games afterwards. Thanks guys for saving room for us, it meant a lot!

I'm so happy to finally hear Sophie say she likes school now. They had a rough start, being in seperate classes this year, but they are survivors and have done very well. They always look happy when I peek in at them. Sophie has a great teacher and is having a better experience then Sage teacher makes a huge difference. I feel for Sage, but she is a trooper. They are excelling and enjoying their friends, and get to hang out together at recess- monkey bars, soccer, and jump rope with the group, can't beat that.

I'm very thankful for my job, especially during frugal times. My first passion and priority is being a mom & wife, best and sometimes hardest job ever, and then a designer. I'm able to schedule my appointments while they're in school so I can be here when they get home. It's great using my degree, getting back into business & design, and doing something else I have a passion for. I know I've been blessed, top in sales and closing rates in my region, I'm sure it changes often, but I'm so thankful for the opportunity and success and I'm having fun, helping others, helping pay off our adoption, and meeting such great clients! most of the time. What a blessing!

I'm thrilled to hear that my dad is doing better. I talked to him a few Sundays ago and he sounded great, then later that week he went in for an emergency surgery, and the next thing you know he was having kidney failure. I was so worried, but he is doing quite a bit better. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers on his behalf, he is a fighter and a great dad!

Last, I'm thankful I've been able to coach my girls soccer team this fall. We had our last game last week, and our first win, Yae! they played hard and are all winners in my book. I'm thankful for the fun kids, grateful parents, and a tearful mom that thanked me so much for helping her twin boys (they were quite a handful, tried to score in the opposite goal, grabbed the ball from the ref, rambunctious boys... one of the other coaches chewed them out after the first game for wrestling after the ball with each other. Of course I reinforced the rules but they deserved patience, love, and a chance like everyone else, and it was great to see them improve and take it more seriously). It was fun helping the kids and seeing them work together as a team. Sophie and Sage loved indoor soccer with mom as coach!

So much for a quick post, but so much to be thankful for. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Five Star Get Away

with my sweetie

celebratinng our 20th Wedding Anniversary

gorgeous view from the room

feeling pampered- cozy, romantic "us" time in the mountains, with a luxurious spa downstairs

shopping on main street, enjoying some art galleries, and dinner at Ruth's Chris. Then back to the room to watch "Pride and Prejudice" A & E version in front of the fireplace, with no interruptions. Bliss.

Thanks hon for the fabulous week-end, and especially for the last 20 years. It's great being married to your best friend!

I finally got this posted from last month, but things aren't so blissful right now, my hon is sick with H1N1, poor guy, send healthy thoughts.

Dresses vs. Jerseys

Sage- left, Sophie- right

I have to be quick these days to get a picture of my girls in a dress before they quickly change into their favorite clothes.

anything sporty, like their soccer jersy's. Such little athletes, they definitely put on a show and know how to score, but I'm not giving up on dresses and ballet yet :)

I'm the lucky coach for their indoor soccer team this year. When they asked if I would coach since no one had signed up, I had to give it some thought, remembering the week before Sophie said "I hope I get a boy coach". They really enjoy their coaches and teachers, and Sophie has always preferred men. "Daddy's little girl", she's also mommy's girl but I love seeing her cute personality with her dad and uncles. Sage is my sweet mommy's girl, although she loves her dad tons! Just different preferences. So when I talked to them about me possibly coaching their team, they sqealed with joy, so I took the job. It's been a lot of fun even though I have a challenging team, they have come a long way. Go Orange Dragons!

Trick or Treat

I'm a bit behind, but I don't want to skip this fun, wild night.

They could hardly wait to go trick or treating, but patiently let me take a few quick pics, mom's rights. Josh went out with friends and Nick stuck around to give out candy.

Trick or Treating in style, or laziness :)
There are a lot of long driveways and hills so this is the way to go, thanks Jeff.

This house freaked them out. They were all hesitant to pick some candy so Trevor went first, and got grabbed by the witch that they thought was fake. "Ne He He", way to go Steph

The orange wig didn't last long

The highlight of their night, well tied with all the candy, was riding Buddy. They love horses and what a treat to get to ride one tonight. Thanks Laura, loved the light up hat!

Then off to both Grandmas.

The next day, I wondered what they were up to when they called me in to show me they seperated and organized their candy, ya, they scored. Then they had the big barter- trading and negotiating, brings back memories. Sage is the line seperating her's and Sophie's candy- lol. It was a delightful Halloween with my ghouls.

I had planned to have them donate a lot of their candy. A local dentist was buying Halloween candy $1/ pound and sending the goods to the troops, I'm sure they can use some chocolate. I waited too long and all the good stuff mysteriously disappeared, now I'm stocking up on toothpaste. :)

Ghoulish parties

Sophie & Sage have had their share of them this year... such fun friends! Next year I'll have to throw one. Here are a few public parties that I actually took my camera to (I've been bad at that lately).

Our town puts on an exciting Halloween Bash each year. They don't miss a thing, everything from scary stories, gunny sack races, to pumpkin drops from the top of the firetruck ladder. Topped with cotton candy and apple cider, the kids had a ball. Josh helped out at his schools' booth this year, and the kids enjoyed participating in all of the booths to earn their own pumpkin at the end. This party gets better each year.

Sage being the patient at the First Aid Booth, she thought that was cool.

A few pics from their class parties...

It was crazy trying to be at 3 different classes at the same time, you'd think they would stagger the parties just for me. I was the photographer for Sophie's class, but I slipped away to check out Sages & Trevors parties too.

So cute seeing Sophie and "B" coloring the same page.

Ya, they're popular with the boys already. Sage & "T".

Sophie getting mummified.

"Trick or Treat"

They chose their own costumes. Trevor the "Deviled Egg" (must be novel), Sophie is "Daphne" from Scooby Doo (she liked the big orange hair), and Sage is "Cleopatra" (she loved all the jewels).